Spider Man 2
by The Lady is a Vamp
Summary: Peter has to deal with love, work a superhero secret identity. Just like any young man. Please review! Courtesy, your friendly neighbourhood MoogleChan! FINAL CHAPTER UP
1. Thugs and Cherry Pie

Spider-Man 2  
  
1 Peter gasped for breath as he dodged another of the thug's punches effortlessly. The thug had been lining up several hits for a five good solid minutes by now. Haymakers, plain bruisers, everything. It was almost as bad as when he was in the ring with Bone Saw McGraw. Peter's mind flashed back to that day, almost a year ago now, when he was just getting to grips with his new-found powers. Peter didn't like calling them powers. They were gifts from God. That time was like puberty all over again.  
  
"Why don't ya keep still, web boy?" said the thug, kicking him in the shin.  
  
"Well, sir," he was starting to sound like Superman. "I don't think it's reasonable hitting me."  
  
"Shut up!" the thug took up a pipe lying nearby and was about to hit him on the arm when Peter just gave up and shot webs round his wrists and ankles. The familiar siren rang in his ears.  
  
"Enjoy your oatmeal," said Peter as he left the boys in blue with the thug.  
  
Swinging across New York at night let Peter let go of everything. Uncle Ben's death, which still affected him, the two haunting, magical kisses from MJ and Aunt May alone in Queens. Peter wasn't Peter Parker. He wasn't Spider-Man. He was just a bird flying near the heavens.  
  
"Hey mom!" he shouted up to the stars. "Hey, dad! Uncle Ben! What's up? Whoopee!"  
  
Peter took another left and a right and then slipped into the alleyway where his extra clothes were hidden in a gap in the wall. He had to go and see Aunt May. 23.10 flashed his watch. No, he thought. It's too late. She'll be really tired. A pang of hunger shot through Peter's stomach. The last meal he had was breakfast. There was a fire at a burger place so he didn't have time to eat lunch. What place, he thought, serves pastries, hot coffee and has a gorgeous waitress I can tip heavily? The Moondance Diner.  
  
*****  
  
The familiar tinkle of bells rang and MJ looked up from the table she was scrubbing down.  
  
"Hey, Tiger!" It was Peter in his old black coat and jeans.  
  
"Hey MJ!" Peter sat at the bar. 'Ain't That A Shame' by Chuck Berry finished abruptly. Peter looked at the ancient jukebox.  
  
"That thing still working?" he said in pure amazement.  
  
"Yep. The old beauty's still going." MJ smiled at Peter's awe. "So, how's you, Tiger?"  
  
"Okay. Kind of hungry though." MJ laughed.  
  
"That's what I'm here for!" she did a little twirl and took out her red biro. "What can I get you?"  
  
"I'll have a slice of cherry-."  
  
".Pie and a hot cup of Joe?" Peter smiled at how much she knew him. "It's coming up." She placed the order on the carousel.  
  
"So, Peter, how is your job?" Peter's mind flashed back to the thug.  
  
"Tiring." Peter was being truthful. As if Spider-Man wasn't enough, he now had a proper photography job at the Daily Bugle and was also a freelance science reporter. She patted his shoulder. Holy mother, that felt good, thought Peter. Could I tell her the truth? I.. The jukebox started to scramble 'Heart and Soul.'  
  
"Excuse me." MJ smiled sweetly. Walking over to the jukebox, her scantily short skirt bobbed up and down gently. Picking up her foot, encased in a killer heel, she kicked it and the jukebox skipped to the next song, 'Come Go With Me.'  
  
"That was skill!" Laughed Peter. MJ turned to the hatch into the kitchen and took out a slice of cherry pie and a steaming cup of coffee.  
  
"Thanks," said Peter as he sipped his coffee. "How's the acting?"  
  
"Great!" said MJ. "I'm in a show!" Peter coughed.  
  
"Wow! Well done! You're following your dream at last! Broadway?"  
  
"Yep! I'm 'Tilly'. She sings in the chorus but I have two pages of dialogue, which is good."  
  
"I'm so happy for you, MJ." She blushed at Peter caring. "When does it run?"  
  
"The whole of next month."  
  
"Call me when it's on, okay?"  
  
"Sure will." Peter gobbled his pie and handed the coffee to MJ, as well as five dollars. He got up and headed for the door.  
  
"Have the rest of this and the change as a congratulation." MJ laughed.  
  
"Thank you! Bye, Tiger!" he turned round.  
  
"Bye, superstar."  
  
Once he'd gone, MJ's heart soared above the clouds. "Superstar!" she said under her breath.  
  
Once he'd left the diner, Peter's heart soared above the clouds. "Tiger!" he said under his breath. 


	2. The Jelly has left the Donut

2 "Well, good morning to all of you listeners! This is NYFM at 7 in the morning!" MJ woke up from a dazed sleep. "7?" she rubbed her head, then slapped it. "Holy god! I'm gonna be late!" MJ showered quickly, pulled herself into her jeans and threw on her High School sweater. Grabbing her bag, MJ left the radio on. She also left the door open.  
  
*****  
  
Harry Osborn looked through his binoculars. "The jelly has left the donut, boss. Over." Crackled the voice from the walkie-talkie. Harry sighed at his 'handy' man's language and put the binoculars down.  
  
"Very well, Pedro. Over." Harry picked up the binoculars and watched Mary Jane Watson hail a cab. "Follow that cab, Jenkins."  
  
"Very well, sir."  
  
"Its payback time."  
  
"Whatever you say, sir."  
  
"Hand me the phone." His butler obeyed and Harry punched in a number. "Hello? It's Harry Osborn.."  
  
*****  
  
"Help me! Where's my purse? Oh dear god! Stop that man!" yelled the mom with three kids.  
  
"I'm already on it, ma'am." Spider-Man had swung down. She was saved!  
  
Peter hurled himself onto the pickpocket. The face was familiar. Taking the purse, Peter ran through his 'face base.' It was something inside his head, which had hundreds of faces that he could compare with one he was looking at. It reached an answer.  
  
"Flash? Is that you?"  
  
"Just let me go, you freak!" Flash struggled but Peter held him tight. A policeman ran to him.  
  
"Thanks." Another policeman put him into the car. The woman took back her purse saying 'thank you Spider-Man!' over and over again. But Peter didn't notice her. The policeman carried on. "We've been looking for this one for some time. Frederick 'Flash' Thompson. How did you know his name?" Peter didn't answer. He stuttered.  
  
"I..I..I've been looking for him for a long time too. Um, goodbye, officer."  
  
Peter swung into his apartment. Flash? A burglar? Flash was the second- richest kid in school to Harry's first. Why would he need to steal? Peter pressed 'play' on his answering machine.  
  
"You-have-three-new-messages." Said the monotone female voice.  
  
"BEEP. Peter, it's Aunt May dear." Peter smiled as he took off his jacket. "I haven't seen you in a long time. Are you all right? Is your new apartment okay? Silly May, it's not THAT new. How is poor Harry? Was the move into his dad's house okay? Mrs Watson said he and MJ aren't together anymore.." Oh yes, thought Peter. "..Which you know already. He's been quite distraught maybe you should call him. I'm going to bed now. Call-." The beep signalled she'd gone on for too long. Peter smiled and deleted it.  
  
"Message-deleted. Message-two," said the voice.  
  
"Parker!" It was J. Jonah Jameson, Peter's boss. "Want another freelance? Harry Osborn, making new company." Peter stood to attention in his uniform. "You do pictures, article. 5th. That's in two days, or a week gone if you've missed it, depending on when you get this message. Get to it!" Peter kept the message.  
  
"Message-three."  
  
"Peter?" It was a voice, whispering, frightened.  
  
"MJ?" said Peter, attentive.  
  
"Listen, I'm so scared! Please, get Spider-Man. I'm in some sort of huge room. Please, get him, Peter. Help me!" It cut off. Peter started to pull on his mask. Why didn't the spider-sense work? He kept thinking. Then the sudden and familiar blur signalled something was wrong.  
  
"What are the bastards doing to her?" he left the apartment, locking the door but leaving by the window, not even checking if the coast was clear. MJ was in trouble, which was all that mattered. Just as he'd left, the phone started to ring. Unanswered, the machine kicked in.  
  
"Hey, this is Peter Parker. I'm sorry I'm not in at the moment but leave your number and message after the beep and I'll get back to you. Bye," said Peter's voice from the machine. *BEEP* Silence.  
  
"Can Spider-Man come out to play?" 


	3. Kidnapped

3 "Mary Jane Watson!" yelled Peter in his Spider-Man voice. His sense told him that this building was the one. It was an abandoned factory, or lab, with empty chemical bottles scattered around. Peter picked one of them up and looked at the green label. "OsCorp." He said. "MJ! Mary Jane, where are you?" Peter felt a tear loosen the tight grip of his mask. "MJ!" His voice faltered slightly. "MJ?" There was more silence. Moonlight came in slithers through the blocked-up windows.  
  
"Spider-Man?" said a small, hoarse voice.  
  
"I'm coming!" Peter started to run but realised he'd crack the bottles. Attaching a web to the ceiling, he swung from metal beam to beam, surveying in the dim light the hundreds of bottles and rats that scuttled around. The rats were playing at first but then, looking more closely, they were hurting eachother quite badly. "They're killing eachother!" Peter whispered in shock. "They must be..insane."  
  
"Spider-Man?" said the voice again. Peter pulled at the last web and walked over to the voice. One of the moonbeams flashed on copper hair.  
  
"Mary Jane!" he whispered. Pulling down some more of the board covering the window. MJ was tied to a chair; her gag had fallen round her neck, tears streaming down her face. Undoing the knots, Mary Jane fell off the chair in pure exhaustion. Peter scooped her up and supported her in a hug. She cried gently into his shoulder.  
  
"How did you call Peter?" he said in his Spider-Man voice.  
  
"My phone. Before they.." she started to cry again.  
  
"Hush," said Peter, stroking her hair. "Who took you?"  
  
"Well, I got into the cab, late for a rehearsal, and then he took me to the theatre but before I could get out, he pulled me back in the cab." Peter held her tighter. "These guys were all dressed in black, wearing sunglasses. They drove me here when..he.."  
  
"Who, Mary Jane? It's painful but you have to tell me." She swallowed.  
  
"It was him, Spider-Man." "Who? MJ, tell me!"  
  
"The Green Goblin." Peter loosened her from his grip. She looked up at him. "I'm sure it was him. And, Peter, there was someone else."  
  
"Peter?" he said. "I'm not Peter, Miss Watson."  
  
"Then why did you call me MJ?" MJ just started to realise herself.  
  
"Peter mentioned you and called you that," said Peter, making up excuses as he went.  
  
"Tell me, who are you?" she said, wiping her eyes. "You kiss like Peter." Peter remembered that kiss in the graveyard.  
  
Trying to be Spider-Man he said, "Peter kissed you?" She blushed.  
  
"In the graveyard." Inside his mask, Peter went redder than his uniform.  
  
"I want to show you something." He said, still as Spider-Man. He swung his way back to the door, carrying her. He swung all the way back to his apartment, saying nothing to her, trying to stop her taking his mask off. Landing inside, he put her down on the couch.  
  
Realising her surroundings in her dazed, still terrified state, Mary Jane put her hand to her mouth. "My god, Pete?" the red and blue clad figure stood there, motionless. "It all makes so much sense now! Thanksgiving, the cyclist clipping your arm, you calling me MJ.."  
  
Peter sighed. Taking off the mask slowly, he turned around and looked deep into her eyes. She gasped and shook her head.  
  
"Tiger..?" He nodded. "God.." he sat down beside her.  
  
"You had two crushes on the same guy." He said, smiling in awkwardness. She touched his face gingerly, as if about to slap him. That's it, Peter thought as he braced himself.  
  
She hates me.  
  
"I had seen his face after all." Said MJ in awe.  
  
"What?" said Peter.  
  
"Remember in the hospital? You were looking after Aunt May and I told you about my crush on Spider-Man. 'He's saved my life twice and I've never even seen his face.' It wasn't true. You did prepare me. You did say that I knew who you were." She touched his face and where the 'cyclist' had cut his arm. She drew in closer and he turned away.  
  
"MJ, I found out something about Flash."  
  
"Him?" she said, tired and confused.  
  
"Yes. I saw him and, stopped him, robbing a woman."  
  
"Flash? Three shocks in one night," MJ shouted angrily. She's reacting worse than I thought, thought Peter. She got up from the couch. "Don't you think that's quite enough Spider-." He stopped her.  
  
"Please, MJ, my neighbours."  
  
"Argh!" she screamed. "I don't believe you! This is just so different..I.." she swirled around on the spot. Peter got up and caught her in his arms. He laid her down on the bed. His spider-sense swirled round his head again. Grabbing his mask, he left, taking one look at the sleeping MJ. 


	4. Messages

4  
MJ woke up, angry and a bit grouchy. Slamming Peter's alarm clock, she found herself in her jeans and High School sweater. Peter is Spider- Man. My god; Peter is Spider-Man. Peter is Spider-Man.  
  
Thoughts ran through her head. One stood out from the others. How did he get this way? MJ poured herself some cereal and ran options through her mind. He needed some sort of contact from a spider..?  
  
"The field trip!" she gasped and swore when she saw the cereal overflowing. "The fight with Flash! Oh my god...." Then it reminded her of that night when she..she kissed Spider-Man..kissed Peter.. Spider-Man seemed to like it. Was Peter lying about his feelings? No, she thought. Peter isn't one to lie. MJ laughed at the irony. Peter came in through the big window, landing on the table.  
  
"I'm home!" MJ got out another bowl.  
  
"Careful!" MJ caught the vase at the end of the table before it shattered.  
  
"Thank you, I owe you one MJ." Peter said, helping himself to MJ's cereal.  
  
"No, it's the least I can do. I count yesterday as the fourth time, Tiger." Peter laughed and started to eat the cereal. "Hey! My cereal!"  
  
"Two favours down, two to go!" MJ sighed and turned on the TV.  
  
"Today the president makes his visit to.."  
  
Peter looked as his machine. The little green light flashed.  
  
"I have a message.." he said, wondering why he hadn't noticed it before.  
  
"Wow, Pete. Your life just gets more and more exciting." MJ said sarcastically.  
  
"You-have-two-messages. One-new. One-old. Message-one."  
  
"Parker!" Peter pressed skip. He needed to get to Harry's unveiling of his new company tomorrow.  
  
"Message-two."  
  
"Can Spider-Man come out to play?" It was the Green Goblin. No doubt. The voice sounded younger but it was him. But, he's dead? Isn't he? MJ stood up and screamed.  
  
"Oh my god! He's coming! I..He's gonna kill me, Peter!" she was getting hysterical.  
  
"MJ! MJ!" he shouted, holding her arms and diverting her head from the machine to his face.  
  
"It's from yesterday. It's kind of a signature, just ignore it." He held her as she started to cry.  
  
"Why, Pete? Why does he want me?"  
  
"And finally, Harry Osborn, son of the late OsCorp founder, Norman Osborn, unveils his new company tomorrow as the new World Unity Fair is back on! The company will carry on with scientific experiments into human strength. I'm Charlotte MacQueen and that is the news this morning. Join me at noon for the latest news bulletins. Goodbye."  
  
Peter let go of her and sat her down. "MJ, I don't know but I need to go and see someone. I'll know if something happens, okay?" Pulling his jeans over his uniform, he left by the front door. A rare sight thought MJ. 


	5. A Meeting with Harry

5  
Harry Osborn sat in his father's study, the place where he saw Spider- Man lay his father's cold body down, and stared at the curtained windows. He tightened his smoking jacket and suddenly felt weak. He reached for a bottle.  
  
Harry had been taking his father's strength 'potions' ever since he'd died. It made him feel at one with his father's mind, tapping into his creation. Lately, the old glider had shown signs of wear. One of the old labs had been broken into, the one where they kept the rats. The rats had been set free but when they found them, half of them were dead. Harry's plan to talk to MJ had backfired; she never showed up. In fact, Harry couldn't remember that whole day except saying something about payback.  
  
Opening the bottle, he took a sip, then gulps and finished it, immediately feeling very sick. He threw the bottle at the wall and hung his head in his hands.  
  
"Oh, dad. Why did he kill you? That murderer. But I know who he is. I read your journal. You really shouldn't leave stuff like that lying about. Why did he kill you?" his 'conversation' ended abruptly when he heard a knock on the door. He opened the curtains and yelled, "Who is it?"  
  
"Mr Parker, sir."  
  
"Let him in and get him a drink." He said, in a crocodile snap. "The bastard." He muttered. Putting on a chummy smile, he went to the door. "Pete!"  
  
"Harry."  
  
"How are you?" Killed anybody else, you freak?  
  
"Good, thank you. I heard about the company. Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks Pete, it means a lot to me." He said, almost through gritted teeth. They sat down on the leather sofas, opposite eachother. The tribal masks stared at them, eavesdropping on their every word.  
  
"I'll be reporting on it. And taking the pictures." Jenkins came in and set down a cup of coffee. "Thanks."  
  
"Well, Pete. If it was anybody, I'm glad it's you." Who killed my father. A wicked thought burst into Harry's mind. "I'd be happy to give you a private interview."  
  
"Harry, that would be a godsend. I don't know much about the fair. Will it be as eventful as last year?" Harry smirked.  
  
"I hope it'll be good but not THAT sort of eventful. If Spider-Man steps foot on the ground, I'll kill him on the spot." Peter spluttered into his coffee. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine. Harry, it's been great but I know you're busy. I have to go and see MJ." Peter realised he'd uttered the word. Harry looked away. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay." But it wasn't. Harry wasn't looking at him.  
  
"I'll call Aunt May. She's been worried about you. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry."  
  
"Fine." He snapped.  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
"Whatever." Peter left. Harry laughed, a manic laugh, then broke down into tears. He curled himself up into a foetal position, a little child again. "Oh dad. Oh daddy dad."  
  
"Are you alright, sir?" It was Jenkins, standing at the doorway.  
  
"Phone, Jenkins. I need the phone." Jenkins took the old-fashioned telephone off of the table and set it down beside Harry. "You know which number, Jenkins." Jenkins whirled round the number dial. It seemed to take forever. Whirl, click click. Whiiiiiirl, click click. He handed the headset to Harry. "It's me. Are you free tomorrow.." 


	6. OctoExperiments

6  
Peter opened the door to his apartment. Throwing his keys on the table, he noticed MJ wasn't there. Was she okay? Had his spider-sense faltered again? If it had happened once it could. He spotted a note on the table.  
  
At rehearsals. Locked door using key from janitor. See you Tiger. MJ.  
  
"Phew." Just to make sure, Peter checked the handwriting. After the fifth time, he knew that it was definitely hers. Taking off his coat, jeans, and uniform, he pulled on his PJs and crawled into bed.  
  
*****  
  
"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake UUUUP! It's 7 'o clock in the morning on this lovely day, 5th of August, and in case anybody's forgotten, it's the brand spanking new Unity Fair! Harry Osborn is organising, and paying for, I wouldn't want that job, the fair to open his new company, OctoExperiments! Weird name, huh?"  
  
Peter hit the radio and ran the new name of Harry's company through his head. "OctoExperiments?" remembering his Latin, Peter recognised 'octo' as "Eight." Showering, eating and dressing only took a couple of minutes each. Peter ticked the items on his list.  
  
"Camera? Check. Film? Check. Pad? Check. Pen? Check. Uniform? Check." Peter left and made his way to the Unity Fair.  
  
*****  
  
Harry Osborn peered over the restored balcony at the hundreds of stupid people scurrying around in their Swedish or French or Spanish costumes. Harry wasn't one to lie but he did lie to Peter yesterday. I mean why not? He thought. He lied about everything to me. Harry spotted the eager beaver with his camera, snapping the huge inflatable globe.  
  
"Well, Parker," Harry said to himself. "You're in for a shock this year because it'll be JUST as eventful as last year's fair."  
  
Peter looked up at the new balcony and saw Harry. He waved to him. Peter waved back. Scanning the area for photographs, his frame landed on a pretty blonde girl.  
  
"Peter? Peter Parker?" she smiled a pearly white smile.  
  
"Yes, that's me." Peter lowered his camera.  
  
"Don't you remember me?" She smiled again. It was a huge and pleasant smile. She had pale skin, blonde hair in a ponytail and blue-brown eyes. She was wearing blue Levi's, black Doc Martens and a white fitted blouse, her lacy white bra showing through. This woman was very attractive. So much so that Peter was having trouble with his words.  
  
"No..Sorry....I...."  
  
"Liz Allen ring a bell?" Peter opened his mouth in amazement.  
  
"Oh my god! Liz, you look fantastic!" Peter had only known Liz as an awkward geeky girl at High School, about two more steps down the social ladder than he had been. Her hair had always been untidy, her glasses huge and her braces.She was sometimes known as 'Metal Mouth'. Puberty had obviously been a good thing for her.  
  
"Aw, jeez." She started eyeing his biceps. "You don't look bad yourself, Peter." Liz smiled that amazing smile again.  
  
"Did you get contacts?" Peter knew it was a stupid question. Obviously she had got contacts but maybe she would appreciate him noticing them. Even still, and rather odd this was, she hesitated and looked down at the floor, as if thinking about it.  
  
"Umm.. Yeah! I did! Do they look okay?"  
  
"Yeah! Great!" Peter was still amazed at how she cleaned up so well.  
  
"So, Pete. Did you get a job after graduation?"  
  
"Yes. I'm a photographer." He gestured to the camera. "And a freelance reporter."  
  
"No kidding! I'm a reporter! Wow, where?" Liz slapped him playfully on the shoulder.  
  
"The Daily Bugle." Liz's eyes lit up again.  
  
"Me too! Isn't Jonah such a drag?" Peter nodded. Coincidences! It was just his lucky day.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"I'm just mooching around. Some other bonehead got the reporting job instead of me." Peter blushed. "I think it's Oliver. Met him?" Peter shook his head. "Oh, don't. He's a pain in the ass." They both laughed.  
  
Liz then shut her eyes and squeezed them, as if experiencing small pain, and then furrowed around in her pocket. Bringing out a tiny ringing phone, she answered it. Peter looked away and tried not to eavesdrop. Aunt May had always told him how bad it was to listen in on other people's conversations.  
  
"Listen, Pete, I have to go now but maybe we could meet up sometime. For a drink perhaps?" A girlfriend? Peter thought. That could be good. But, MJ.She wouldn't mind. We both have to move on. Now that would be even harder, considering she now knew his identity.  
  
"Yeah, okay." Liz took his number and put it on her phone. I have to get one of those, thought Peter. She smiled at him and then walked off into a crowd of people. As he was positioning a shot of the inflatable animals, his spider-sense warned him. Before he could think what it was, Harry appeared on the balcony again, as if ready for a speech. Everybody turned round and started to clap. Peter joined in. Harry was finally getting on with his life.  
  
"My friends. My new company, OctoExperiments, will break the boundaries of human evolution." Harry used an extract from his father's journal. "We have barely touched the surface." This sparked off spontaneous applause. "Now, enjoy yourself!" he disappeared into his study. Peter started to frame the animals again. Click! Went his camera. He heard a squelch and looked at his wrists to see if one of his webs had 'gone off' by itself. Nothing. Then came the laughter and clapping. He looked up and saw..  
  
"No! It's not possible." A person, clad in red and purple, was swinging towards Harry, using webs. This was probably just for show, but when Harry leapt out of the study with a handgun, he knew it couldn't be.  
  
Jumping into the shadows, Peter ripped off his shirt and jeans and pulled out the mask from his camera pocket. Appearing again, he saw Harry turn to shoot him. Peter had forgotten about Harry's oath to kill Spider-Man. Dodging four shots, the fifth made him pull a muscle in his neck. It throbbed with pain but Peter ignored it, staggering back into the shadows. His spider-sense gave him a quick jolt. What was it now? Looking up at the balcony, Peter saw the other Spider-Man dangling in front of Harry, the gun now pointing at Harry's head. A closer inspection of the gun-holder showed that the figure had slight hips and chest marks through their uniform.  
  
This was no Spider-Man.  
  
This was a Spider-Woman! 


	7. SpiderWoman?

7 Even though the balcony was high up, Peter could hear the 'Spider-Woman's' voice. It was natural, but angry.  
  
"Say your prayers, Osborn!" Harry was terrified.  
  
"I.I thought we had a deal!"  
  
"Deal? Ha! That was with the OLD Spider-Woman, Osborn. Fresh to the business, I was just your little toy. But now the tables have turned!" The Spider-Woman delivered a shot, just between the nose and the forehead, the most delicate part of the body.  
  
"Nooo!" yelled Peter, scrambling up the wall. It was too late. By the time he'd got there, Spider-Woman had swung away, cackling, and Harry was lying on the floor, head bleeding and fading fast. Peter took him in his arms.  
  
"It's okay, Harry! You're gonna be okay!" Harry managed a smile and looked at his face.  
  
"I'm sorry, Peter."  
  
"No, Harry I'm sorry I killed your father." Harry gestured a 'no'.  
  
"I was trying to kill you. She was.."  
  
"Who, Harry?"  
  
"You were always family to us. To me. Goodbye Pete. Spider-." He stopped and went limp. Peter started to cry. He clung to his dead friend's body, shaking like a leaf. Pete looked around - the Spider-Woman was gone. She would pay; oh she would wish she were dead.  
  
Laying Harry's head down softly, he swung to his clothes and ran to his apartment. He didn't want to do this anymore. Why should he have this responsibility when he just can't save people when they were in need? And why was it always too late? Peter took off his mask, threw it on the floor and looked in the mirror. There was who he really was, right there in front of him, looking at him with anger, twisted loathing and disgust.  
  
"What are you looking at?" he said in a voice different to his own. He was beginning to sound like Norman Osborn. That wouldn't happen to him, it couldn't. He looked at his real reflection again. But was it really him? Spider-Man had engulfed him so much so that he sometimes forgot his own date of birth and how many science prizes he received over the years. Maybe he should just give up now, become the usual shmuck he truly was and just let innocent people die? Loosing control, he hit the mirror, shattering it to millions of pieces.  
  
"Shit! God dammit!" Peter wiped the tears away and rang MJ, his fingers bleeding all over the pristine white keypad. The pain numbed his deeper, more humiliating torture that went on inside his head day after day after day. ~Why bother? ~ Remember what Norman said ~ they'd just love to see you fall, and you will ~ no doubt about it. ~  
  
"Shut up!" Peter hit his head to kill the voices. He picked up the phone and dialled again with his numb hands. It rang several times. She'd be in rehearsals now; he didn't want to interrupt her but she had to know how dangerous he was. She couldn't come near him.  
  
"Hello, Mary Jane Watson."  
  
"It's Pete."  
  
"Hey! What's wrong? Pete, you okay?" MJ heard the tears in his voice. Peter started to cry.  
  
"It's.. Harry." The tears rolled down his bare skin and into his dry mouth.  
  
"What's wrong with him?"  
  
"He's dead! He's dead, MJ and it's all my fault!" Peter started to get quieter and quieter, as if the grief was making him lose his voice.  
  
"Harry's dead?"  
  
"Yes MJ! He was shot!"  
  
"Oh my god.."  
  
"I know! And.." Peter looked at the shattered mirror and the pieces of glass around him. "It's all my fault." Both Spider-Man and, well.... Peter- Man.  
  
"Woh, Peter, it's not your fault," said MJ, feeling the tears sting her throat a little. Yes, things hadn't been a bed of roses between Harry and her lately but, even still, he was gone. Gone for good.  
  
"Yes it is, MJ!" Peter wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "If I had got to the balcony sooner than I would have saved him from her."  
  
"Her?" MJ yelled something to her director. "Pete, who is she?"  
  
"Spider-Woman."  
  
"Spider-Woman?" said MJ in a hoarse whisper.  
  
"She killed him. She said something about.a deal and then she shot him in the head." Peter was vague about the whole incident but, then again, the whole day had turned into a blur. Was Harry his enemy or his friend? His final word had answered that question but why was he in league with this psychopath?  
  
MJ swallowed the tears in her throat.  
  
"Okay, Pete. Do you want me to come over?" Peter thought about it. She'd be safe in his apartment. He could lock everything up, just the two of them, consoling eachother. Just the two of them.. Peter cursed himself for thinking like that at a time like this but, he knew this now, he was just an animal. Or, arachnid to be exact. He thumped his head against the wall and hoped MJ didn't hear him.  
  
"Later, please. I need to phone.. May.."  
  
"Calm down.. Peter.. Fine. I'll see you later. As soon as I can get off, I promise."  
  
"Thank you MJ." Peter tore off his uniform and curled up on the floor.  
  
"I'll always be there for you Peter. Goodbye." MJ  
  
Peter pressed the red 'hang up' button and left a small puddle of blood from where his hands had bled themselves raw.  
  
"Yes, MJ. I'll always be there for you too." ~ But, ~ said that nagging voice at the back of his head, ~ how long will it be till there's no MJ either? ~ Peter shuddered on the floor and tried to think of the good times he had with his now deceased best friend. 


	8. MJ's Visit

8 Peter watched the news from his little warm nook on the floor. He didn't know why. Harry's death was everywhere. His deadline was postponed because of it. This was the second death that Peter could have stopped. He wasn't fit to be a superhero or even a regular Joe with arachnid genes running through his blueprint. After that MacQueen woman finished her bulletin, the buzzer sounded. Pressing the little intercom button, he gave a sigh of relief.  
  
"Peter?"  
  
"It's open, MJ." Letting go of the button, Peter grimaced as his bandaged hand stung. He had cut it after trying to clean up the mirror because he'd been too clumsy.  
  
"Pete?" he spun around. MJ stood there in the doorway, the angel of mercy.  
  
"Mary Jane.." he collapsed into her arms. MJ dragged his sorrow-filled body across to the sofa. She laid his head on her lap, as if he were a little boy and she his mother.  
  
"Shhh." She stroked his head. It was very therapeutic.  
  
"It's all my fault, MJ. I'm so sorry," he began to cry, to blubber like a baby. She could hardly understand him. It was unlike Peter to be so unhappy like this. He was usually so reserved, so on the sidelines. MJ wanted to say something to make it better.  
  
"It's okay. We weren't really that close anyway." It didn't work. Peter cried harder. "There, there." He stopped sobbing, at least for a little while, and breathed in deeply. "What about this Spider-Woman? Describe her." Peter gave her a little 'Why?' look, then shrugged, dragged his sleeve across his nose and began.  
  
"Uniform like mine, symbol, web design. Except, the colours were red and purple."  
  
"Whoever she is, she has no fashion-sense."  
  
"MJ!" Mary Jane saw through Peter's less than sunny exterior and saw his mouth twitch into a smile for at least a second.  
  
"Sorry." She stroked his head a little more, letting him breathe in her perfume. Peter wanted to purr, to look up and kiss her glossy peachy lips, to savour her, to tell her he loved her and how he would eventually fail her. But he couldn't tell her that now. Her face turned sour and crinkled. "Wait, did you say red and purple?"  
  
"Leave off it, MJ. It goes quite well. Sort of plum and bright red." Peter smiled a little. MJ would never quit when there was a fashion disaster.  
  
"Oh my god.." Mary Jane stood up leaving Peter to sit up.  
  
"What is it?" Peter stopped being the cry baby and made plenty of space on his shoulder, just in case.  
  
"You remember I said that there was another person in the warehouse?" she started to shake a little. Talking about that day was clearly disturbing for her. "It was her." Peter stood up and held her shoulders. "She talked to Harry."  
  
"He was there as well?" This was getting blown over.  
  
"Yes. That glider thing was there.. I didn't really.... He was saying something about making sure I never left him again. He was a psycho." Peter flinched. "At least he was then. I'm sorry, Peter. That was really out of order on my part."  
  
They both sat down and then MJ spotted the fragments of mirror and Peter's hand.  
  
"Peter! Did you.." he nodded. "Oh, Peter." She stroked his bare face, traced the tracks of his tears with her finger and kissed him on the cheek. Peter looked dead into her eyes.  
  
"I will always be your friend," he said solemnly, "I will always be there for you. I'm just scared I'll do something to hurt you."  
  
"You couldn't hurt me, Peter," said Mary Jane with tears in her eyes. "You know me - always up for a challenge."  
  
"I don't want to be a challenge to you, MJ. Why does it have to be like this?"  
  
"It's too complicated isn't it. I mean, Norman's funeral.."  
  
"MJ, I'm sorry if I was cold that day. It just wasn't the right time."  
  
"What do you mean, not the right time?" Mary Jane shifted on the sofa.  
  
"I mean.. What I'm trying to say is.. Mary Jane.."  
  
She pulled him in, pressing his lips to hers. He was rigid in her arms but his lips felt the warm sweet taste of her lip-gloss and her personal space. Peter relaxed and held MJ's head in his hand and his arm round her waist. Their mouth's slowly opened, practically eating eachother with the hunger they had for one another. They slowed down a little. Peter had seen this in so many movies, dreaming of this moment and replaying it again and again but this was so different, yet somehow all the same. A small crush had just blossomed into a fully blown romance. Thinking of her kissing him helped him when the people he was trying to save screamed. MJ was there, she always had been, always would be.  
  
"Mary Jane, you're so beautiful.."  
  
Mary Jane was crying now. "I never knew you.."  
  
"Since I was six years old." He laughed through the tears. "When you moved in next door. I asked Aunt May if you.. you were.."  
  
"What, Peter?"  
  
"You were an angel." She smiled and kissed him again. Their hearts and souls entwined. All of the passion and anger and hatred from their lives made an amazing energy that powered their intimate kiss. Peter kissed her shoulder and she took off his jacket. He undid her blouse and kissed her neck.  
  
"I love you, Peter."  
  
"I love you so much, Mary Jane." 


	9. A Drink with Liz

9  
Peter wondered if it was wrong. To sleep with Mary Jane just after his best friend, who happened to have a little thing for Miss Watson also, was shot in the head? It sounded like some soap opera but that's what his life was becoming now but didn't Harry always say that Peter should go for it? That he should talk to MJ, make the first move? Harry was always there for Peter, as were Uncle Ben and his parents. It sounded twisted at first but it made more sense as he went over it again and again. Harry was meant to die that day, in some weird celestial intervention, to be a spiritual guide. To make him show how lucky he was to have MJ and Aunt May and to be given this messiah-like task of saving these people from the powers of darkness, the worst things to walk the earth since his third grade art teacher, Mrs Fratherton.  
  
He lay there with MJ sleeping peacefully at his side. He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. It would have been amazing anyway, but it being the first time, possibly for both of them, made it special. No matter what came down their paths, Peter would always love her. Even if they got into the worst fight and vowed never to speak to eachother again, he would call her two minutes later.  
  
"One minute." MJ said sleepily.  
  
"Hmm?" Peter snuggled under the covers to face her closed eyes.  
  
"I would call you after the first minute." She kissed his forehead. Peter rolled on his other side and the most truly pleasant thought he'd had since before the spider bite came into his mind. He and Mary Jane Watson, yes, he, 'Puny Parker', were soul mates. His spider-sense blurred his vision and he reluctantly got out of bed.  
  
"I've got to go."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Downtown. It's six thirty. You'd better get up too. Rehearsals, remember?"  
  
"Just gimme a minute to fix my make-up." she drifted off to sleep again. Placing the alarm clock, set for another five minutes, next to her head, Peter shot a web outside of the window.  
  
It had been a fire that early morning. It had been easily sorted out but Peter had found something unusual. Made on the floor in ashes, was the signal of a spider with a bow on top of its head. That had been the only difference, apart from the colour, between his and Spider-Woman's uniforms. MJ had made it to rehearsals and called Peter on his cell phone, yelling, quite sexily, what he was playing at.  
  
"But you didn't miss it, did you?" MJ laughed, said 'I love you,' Peter the same, and they hung up at the same time.  
  
Now he was on his way to a drink with Liz Allen. Just friends, thought Peter, now that MJ is now 'my girl'. It sounded good, Mary Jane Parker. In the cab, Peter got out his cell.  
  
"Aunt May?"  
  
"Peter! How are you dear?"  
  
"Over the moon. I told her."  
  
"You did? Oh, Peter I'm so happy for you! Same back?"  
  
"Yes. And a lot more." She laughed but then her voice turned serious.  
  
"I heard about Harry." Peter, trying hard not to cry, told Aunt May everything, apart from him causing his death. "Oh Peter, I'm so sorry. Poor you. You do sound better though now. I'm here for you, okay?"  
  
"I know Aunt May, I'm here for you too."  
  
"Thank you, Peter." I have to go now, but have a nice time with this person from work. Look after yourself and Mary Jane, you know I'm praying for you. Remember that Harry is in a better place, he's with God now. Love to you both, bye!"  
  
"Bye Aunt May." The cab driver had almost missed the bar. Dionysius. Name of a god of wine, thought Peter, I hope she doesn't go too far. Greeting Liz with a polite peck on the cheek, they sat down on stools in the smoky bar. Liz was wearing a very short red cocktail dress and she had to position herself carefully so not to be indecent.  
  
"How are you coping?" said Peter, politely kissing Liz on the cheek.  
  
"Coping?" Peter wondered if she hadn't heard. Impossible, it had been everywhere.  
  
"With Harry's death?" Duh! Peter thought angrily.  
  
"Oh. Pretty well." They sipped on their drinks slowly, their conversation varied from college to childhood and music to gardening and then the subject of Spider-Man came up.  
  
"I don't know. If he's such a good superhero, why didn't he save Harry Osborn?" Liz had touched a tender area and Peter answered haughtily.  
  
"He may have been late but he tried."  
  
"But why was he late?"  
  
"Being his personal photographer, Liz, he told me he has a gift called spider-sense. A bit like a warning system triggered off by an accident about to happen. Sometimes it delays a little."  
  
"Oh." There was silence. "Did you hear about the fire this morning?"  
  
"Yes. He saved them, Liz, give him some slack."  
  
"I know but did you hear about what the police found?" Peter shook his head truthfully.  
  
"In ashes was a spider symbol." Liz traced the outline with her fingers.  
  
"Oh." Peter nodded at the familiarity. "With a bow on its head?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"How do you know about it?"  
  
"I was reporting. How do you know about it?"  
  
"I.. er.. I was on the phone with Jonah and he mentioned it."  
  
"Oh. I don't remember telling him."  
  
"It was down a hotline. His secretary, her friend was in the fire." Peter wasn't used to lying but he needed to protect his identity even more now MJ knew. Not that he didn't trust her but it would be awkward in conversations. 'Yeah, my girlfriend and me were talking about kinky ways to do it too. I tied her up with my web fluid and, well, one thing led to another!'  
  
"Liz, it's been great catching up but I have to get back. Mary Jane will be worried about me." Her smile turned sour.  
  
"Mary Jane?"  
  
"My girlfriend." He smiled. Liz looked disgusted.  
  
"You've been leading me on, Parker! Trotting around, sexy questions about my private life! You have some nerve!" and then she slapped him. Picking up her fur stole, she flounced out of Dionysius. She got the wrong idea, thought Peter. He walked home. The puzzling jigsaw didn't quite fit together. But he'd work it out. Soon. 


	10. Dinner Plans and Understudies

10  
Mary Jane reapplied her lipstick. The director was running through a dance with Tamara, the 'talent' of the show. Tamara was stuck-up and evil. It was an early rehearsal as the show was drawing nearer and nearer. Everybody was tired and grouchy, especially their director.  
  
"NO NO NO! Plié, plié, jump! Is that so hard?" Mary Jane giggled softly so that he couldn't hear.  
  
"Thank god for matte powder!" Mary Jane looked at where the voice had come from. Bo, a really nice girl in the chorus was touching up her nose. "I really don't think I could live without it. Just look at my skin today!"  
  
"It looks fine, Bo. I'm just thankful for Ruby Rouge lipstick!" Bo laughed.  
  
"We sound just like an advert! But, seriously MJ, that lipstick really does suit you."  
  
"Thank you Bo." Bo had started to apply a powder blue eye shadow. "No, no. Bo, you need pink." MJ handed her a small compact from her make-up bag. Bo nodded and applied a little with her index finger.  
  
"MJ, this looks great! You could be a good make-up artist!" MJ blushed. A distinct crack and an ear splitting scream made them both turn round in fright. Tamara had collapsed and was crying and swearing loudly. Her leg was at an awkward angle and the director called over his assistant.  
  
"Someone call 911!" was heard. The director got out his cell.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr Harley, but Tamara's broken her leg." Bo and MJ left their seats and rushed over to Tamara, who was gathering a small crowd. They were all told to back away. There were mumbles of, 'It's going to be cancelled,' 'How can we do it now?' but the most heard was, 'Who is Tamara's understudy?'  
  
"Tamara's understudy is Nicole," said Bo, looking at the cast list. Nicole and Mary Jane had been at High School together. They were pretty close.  
  
"But where is she?" said MJ. "I haven't seen her today. She's never late either."  
  
*****  
  
"HELP ME! HELP ME SOMEONE, GOD, PLEASE! I'M GONNA BE LATE!" Nicole Von Rapp screamed as she stood in the street, five men cornering her. She could be raped. She could be murdered. They could even steal her credit card! She screamed again.  
  
"Now now, little girl, shh! Don't want Spidey-Man to come down, do ya?" said the biggest of them. He licked her cheek.  
  
"I don't think that's a wise idea." The five thugs spun round. It was 'Spidey-Man.'  
  
"Crap! Why do you always have to show up?" A thwoosh came out of nowhere and another figure in red and purple landed by the side of Spider-Man.  
  
"Want a little variety?" It was the voice of a woman. She punched one of the thugs, knocking him out cold.  
  
"Spider-Woman?" said one of the thugs.  
  
"Yep! And you guys doing it this early in the morning? Wow, you are really unsatisfied." Spider-Man helped out Spider-Woman by knocking one of the others out, a pattern evolving until all five were unconscious. Spider-Man turned to face Spider-Woman. Nicole looked from one to the other.  
  
"Thanks!" she managed to muffle and then ran off. Spider-Woman circled Spider-Man.  
  
"Well, well, Spider-Man. I saw you on that TV wrestling special a year ago. What was it called? Losers V. Men in Tights I think." Peter tried to keep his cool under the mask.  
  
"You killed Harry Osborn." He said through gritted teeth. "You're not fit to be a heroine." Spider-Woman laughed.  
  
"HEROINE?" She slapped his cheek as if a baby's. "So naïve. The reason I punched those thugs is because Nicole Von Rapp, the woman WE saved, has some unfinished business with me and I need to finish it alone with her." She shot a web at a skyscraper. "Oh, and hurry up, Spider-Man! You'll be late for school if you don't hurry!" She disappeared. Peter punched the wall. He couldn't go after her. He wasn't ready. Plus, he had a meeting with Jonah. He swore, realising that Spider-Woman was right about one thing. He was going to be late if he didn't hurry.  
  
*****  
  
"NICOLE!" Mary Jane shouted across the theatre. Nicole looked dishevelled and worried. "Nic, you okay?" Nicole shook her head.  
  
"You guys are not gonna believe this……" All of them sat down in front of her, intrigued by her tale of Spider-Man. "I'm gonna have to drop out."  
  
"WHAT?!" said Mr Harvey. "Tamara has broken her leg! She needs her understudy!"  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little traumatised." A couple of people sighed at her dramatic dropout. Mary Jane held her hand. "Why don't you get Mary Jane to be the understudy?" Mary Jane opened her mouth to protest when Mr Harvey interrupted.  
  
"Hmm. Mary Jane, you are the best dancer and actress apart from Tamara and Nicole……" Mary Jane was hurt. "……Okay. But you'd better catch up fast!" Mary Jane nodded her head, hugged Nicole and Bo, received congratulations and called Peter.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi Tiger! Did I wake you up?" Peter yawned.  
  
"No. Just busy at the moment if you know what I mean. I've just had a meeting with Jonah. I'm going back into work tomorrow. Anyway, what's up?"  
  
"I got the lead!"  
  
"Oh! MJ! 'Grats! I knew you would!"  
  
"Well, I'm kind of the understudy's understudy! Pete, I appreciate what you did for Nicole." She lowered her voice. "Just a few minutes ago."  
  
"No problem, hey, it's a hobby." They laughed. "I gotta go."  
  
"Wait! Dinner at my place tonight, okay?"  
  
"No. Come to MY place. I'm going grocery shopping."  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
"MJ, you are a superstar! Love you."  
  
"Love you." She hung up. It was going to be a great dinner. 


	11. A Meal with Mary Jane

11 Mary Jane finished off her pasta sauce with some rosemary. When she was a little girl her mother used to come up crying after an argument with Mary Jane's father. They would hug and her mother would tell her the story of the Rosemary Princess.  
  
It was basically the story of Mary Jane, locked up in a tower with her evil father and her mother who loved her very much. One day, the wicked father went too far and a handsome knight climbed up the walls of the castle and rescued the Rosemary Princess and married her. They had a pink cake and pasta with rosemary sauce. The story was so sweet, thought Mary Jane.  
  
Smelling a fragrant twig filled her heart with hope for the knight and the princess. She placed the two bowls on the glass table and lit the candles. Mary Jane's glance hit the naked wall. The mirror had been taken away but couldn't be repaired as it was too broken for that. So was Peter's psyche, thought Mary Jane. Her glance caught the black ribbon edged invitation to Harry's funeral. Peter and MJ decided they were going together. MJ didn't want to go but she knew Peter needed a shoulder to lean on and from now on, that shoulder was her.  
  
MJ looked around the room. Everything was ready but something was missing.  
  
"Music!" she snapped her fingers.  
  
Hitting 'PLAY' on the stereo, Mary Jane danced her way round the kitchen to Madonna's 'Get Into the Groove'. Singing into her red wooden spoon, Mary Jane had hit the line, 'We might be lovers if the rhythm's right,' when she spotted Peter in the doorway, laughing. She took his hand and dragged him into her arms.  
  
"I'm tired of dancing here all by myself!"  
  
"I'm not a good dancer," said Peter, undoing his tie and top button.  
  
"Tonight I wanna dance with someone else!"  
  
"MJ!"  
  
"You gotta prove your love to me!" He smiled and gave in. They didn't really dance, just mouthed and jump up and down. When the song ended, Peter kissed MJ on the lips and they sat down at the table. He poured some red wine from the bottle and MJ took her napkin and arranged it on her lap. They said grace and started to eat.  
  
"So, how's Liz?"  
  
"Come on, MJ, you avoided her. She went to chess club with me. I don't think you even knew she existed."  
  
"I did too!" She was lying but hoped she sounded genuine. She just sounded desperate.  
  
"To repeat, MJ, she was in chess club with me. I doubt you did." He looked at her in the eyes and she faltered. 'Live to Tell' started to play.  
  
"Well, maybe I didn't know her as well as I'd liked to."  
  
"It doesn't matter." She touched his hand. "She's okay. She works at the Bugle now."  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"No! She looks good now, too."  
  
"Don't go astray."  
  
"Not as good as you." Mary Jane blushed. He always knew how to make her feel better.  
  
"She got contacts." Peter sidetracked a bit. "I think she suspects me."  
  
"Suspects you of what?"  
  
"Being who I am," he said quietly.  
  
"Spider-Man?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Don't worry about it Peter. She can't do. I didn't know until we saw eachother more often." MJ shrugged and spooned more pasta into her mouth.  
  
"But if we work at the same place I'm going to see more of her, aren't I?"  
  
"Peter, chill! Eat! Relax!" she said, her mouth full of half-chewed pasta. He nodded. Mary Jane saw his bruised cheek. "Is that a hand I see, Peter Parker?"  
  
"Yes. Liz thought I was coming onto her. I told her I had a girlfriend and she went berserk." Peter shrugged and sipped his wine. Mary Jane smiled. "You're happy I got slapped?"  
  
"No! I'm just touched that I'm your girlfriend now." They leaned over and kissed. 'Papa Don't Preach' came on.  
  
"This one's depressing," said MJ. "Forward it, will you?"  
  
"Is this my CD? I don't like Madonna.. but I'll have to get back to you on Spider-Man." he said, smiling at his own joke. Mary Jane didn't hear the joke.  
  
"No. It's mine. I went back to my apartment and bought it back here." She fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Peter pressed the button. MJ took another sip of wine.  
  
"MJ, you okay?" Her eyes glistened. 'Open your Heart' was next. MJ looked down. She had started to cry. Peter got up and knelt down next to her chair.  
  
"MJ, what is it? Open your heart to me." She smiled and then cried more. She held out her arms. He hugged her. "Shh. Shh. Tell me."  
  
"You look a little sad I wonder why."  
  
"That song has more meaning to me than the others." Peter couldn't follow on.  
  
"Why? What does it mean?"  
  
"Papa don't preach."  
  
"Oh.MJ.I'm so insensitive, baby." Peter stopped because MJ howled. It was really disturbing to watch her in front of him. She looked like she was coming apart at the seams. "What?"  
  
"Baby! I'm keeping my baby! Except I didn't get the chance to! He told me to get rid of it! He even made me tell the father."  
  
Peter stood up. He ran his hands through his hair and stared at MJ.  
  
"MJ, who was the father?" Peter knelt down next to her. "Who?"  
  
"Who?" MJ sighed. "He made your life a misery. He made my life a misery."  
  
"Flash Thompson?" she nodded. Peter turned the volume right down at the beginning of 'La Isla Bonita'. He hugged her. "Did you want to."  
  
"Keep it? Yes, of course. But I knew I couldn't."  
  
"No, I mean did you want to sleep with Flash?" She shook her head.  
  
"He raped me." Peter bit his lip. "It was a month before grad. He pinned me down and just.. I found out the day before the science trip. I was feeling so down. I hadn't told my parents but I planned to the next day. I felt.. so bad..Then as I stared at that empty block you asked for my picture. It made me feel good. About myself. About the.." Peter kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"When I was on my way to school that day and my dad was telling me that I was trash? I know you heard. I knew you followed me all the way to when I got in the Mustang. It felt like somebody on this earth cared. Then I slipped up in the cafeteria and I thought I was going to die. Being pregnant does that to you. And I was caught by my knight in shining armour." Peter didn't realise how much she had cared about him before.  
  
"The day I broke up with Flash was the day I told him. I wanted him to understand. About the baby, about my dreams. He wouldn't but that little bit of hope inside me said he would. When he didn't want to, I broke up with him. He just wanted us to be together but he wanted me to get rid of it. I couldn't do that. But after that day I knew I couldn't keep it." She started to cry harder.  
  
"After the op I asked if it was a boy or a girl. It was a boy." Peter stood her up and held her closely. As if MJ hadn't had enough turmoil already. Peter felt more love for her in that moment than in any other. MJ was beautiful, talented, a little ditsy but cute in it, could cook and then she had another quality. She was brave. Even braver than him, Uncle Ben, Aunt May and Harry put together. That was brave. He jogged the volume toggle. 'Cherish' played softly. 


	12. The Third Osborn Funeral

12  
  
Peter stopped the car and sighed. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, just to kill time. Just to make it all go away. To not have this day come, to let it pass by and not affect him. ~ Harry's passed by ~ he's not going away ~ you killed him too ~ just like you're killing time. ~  
  
Peter let his head fall back onto the leather head rest. He gulped loudly. Breathing was difficult today. It was too much of an effort. Plus, a guy like him didn't deserve to breathe, to keep on living, when so many had died because of him. All those wasted lives. A cool, gloved hand rested on his brow.  
  
"You okay, honey?" Mary Jane's voice was like a beacon in the fog. Peter drew his head off slowly and turned to look at her, his guiding light.  
  
"I don't think I can do this," Peter's glance fell behind MJ, where mourners were criss-crossing through the graves to get to the nailed coffin of one Harold Norman Osborn. ~ Nailed down ~ stone dead ~ because of yours truly. ~ "I know I can't do this."  
  
"No such word as can't," said MJ, pressing his nose. She picked up the paper from her feet and it rustled as she handed it to Peter. "Read this. It's a beautiful article." Peter took it from her and started to read.  
  
HAROLD NORMAN OSBORN  
  
1983 - 2003  
  
Harold Norman Osborn is being buried today at Lily Grove Cemetery. Harold or Harry, as he liked to be called, was the only son of Norman Osborn, the business entrepreneur, and Jacqueline Prince-Osborn. Harold was born in-  
  
Peter stopped reading. This was stupid. He knew when Harry was born, he knew who his parents were. How was this one article, written by someone who had never even met Harry before, supposed to make him jump up and mourn the death of his best friend with other people he'd never met before when he can do it at home by moping, weeping and blaming himself?  
  
"MJ, this isn't working," he gave her the paper back and turned on the radio. Macy Gray. She was playing when Norman killed the board members and tried, to a lesser extent, to kill his only son and many other innocents. Macy's gravely voice filled the front of the car gradually.  
  
"I try to say goodbye and I choke! I try to walk away and I stumble and when I try to hide it, it's clear, my world crumbles when you're not here.."  
  
"You hear that?" said MJ after a pause. "She's talking - singing, about someone she loves who's gone. Who she wants back. She wants to," MJ started to sing, "Turn back ti-ayme!" Peter grunted. "Just keep reading the damn article, Pete." She thrusted the paper back at him and looked out of the window, her head on her fist. Peter found his place again.  
  
- March, 1983.  
  
"It's just a biography, MJ. It doesn't say anything else." Peter let the tiredness and frustration seep through his voice, the radio still a presence in the background.  
  
"Keep reading. Skip the stupid biography." MJ sounded tired and frustrated herself. Maybe they shouldn't go. This was a stupid idea anyway. It was just going to open old wounds. "Keep reading, Pete. Stop doubting yourself." Peter coughed and rustled the paper. He skimmed through the biography, which took up most of the article, until he came to the last paragraph. Peter began to read it out loud to himself.  
  
"Harold N. Osborn was a young man with great dreams and hopes for the world of science and of humanity. A dream of humanity moving forward and forgetting fighting and death, instead remembering life and love. A dream he shared with his father. Mr Osborn was a man who wanted peace in the world around him, an everlasting peace that would touch the inside of every being. He is gone in the material sense but everlasting in the peace and love he gave to his family, his friends and everyone around him."  
  
Peter stopped and breathed in deeply. MJ looked at him and then looked right through him. He seemed lifted of a heavy burden. A tear ran down his cheek. He didn't notice. He stared at the paper knowingly and sighed.  
  
"You're right as always, Mary Jane. That was really beautiful."  
  
"I've made peace with him, Peter. He made peace with me, I think, in a way beyond words." She took the paper from him and put it on the back seat. Peter found her hand and interlocked his fingers with her own he put his head back and closed his eyes. MJ copied him and the car was filled only with the sound of the news on the radio.  
  
"And finally, police say they have caught a burglar and mugger who has yet to be named. Back to you-." Peter switched the radio off with his free hand.  
  
"We should really get out of the car soon."  
  
"I know," MJ smiled. She opened her eyes, as did Peter, opened the door and stepped out of the car. Now there was just the Osborn family, living and departed, to deal with.  
  
***  
  
"That was a fitting service, reverend," Mary Jane shook the kindly old man's hand. "No one else could have done it but you."  
  
"Thank you, Miss Watson. It was as hard for me as it was for you. Poor Harry is the third Osborn I've buried in the past three years." He looked sadly towards the three graves. Jacqueline, Norman and Harry. The perfect dysfunctional family. The priest looked at MJ with his wrinkled eyes and smiled his wise smile. Mary Jane smiled and went over to a young, dark haired woman standing over Harry's grave. She looked like him a little, even though the heavy veil she was wearing obscured most of her face.  
  
"Are you alright?" said MJ. The woman sniffed and held a black lace handkerchief to her face and dabbed her eyes, though no tears showed.  
  
"Yes. I'm fine," she replied. "But that's the problem. I don't feel anything." She sure sounded like it, thought MJ. The woman's voice was a like a drone and she was becoming more and more of a drag by the second. "How did you know Harry?"  
  
"Oh," MJ's head bobbed a little as she stared at the gravestone marked, Harold Norman Osborn, 1983 - 2003, 'Everlasting'. "We were old friends. You?"  
  
"I'm - I was his cousin," she lifted up the veil. She was very beautiful, pale skin, watery blue eyes, thick black hair cascading over her shoulders. "Diana Prince. My mother was Jacqueline's sister." She shook MJ's hand.  
  
"Mary Jane Watson. Nice to meet you. Pity it had to be here." Diana smiled at MJ but MJ felt unmoved. There was no sadness or frustration in Diana's eyes. Just relief.  
  
"Indeed. You know something, Mary Jane? I'm glad he's gone. He got what was coming to him." MJ thought she even saw Diana smile.  
  
"Well, I have to go now. I'm very sorry for your loss." MJ walked away from the grave but began to walk faster and faster, saying hurried goodbyes, giving hand shakes and condolences to whoever she recognised. She found Peter and curled her arm round his own.  
  
"Oh, MJ, what's up?"  
  
"I don't feel good. Can we leave? We can always come back another time, if you want to."  
  
"Oh, okay, if you're not feeling well," Peter didn't sound that convinced but he still said goodbye and left with her. They sped through the cemetery, over the graves, down the path and to the road. They got into the car and MJ let out a long sigh. "What was wrong with you?" Peter asked, not intended as malicious but still coming out slightly agitated.  
  
"Nothing, it's that woman. Harry's cousin, Diana something." MJ shuddered. "Tell me if I'm being stupid but by the way she talked, it sounded as if she had just killed somebody."  
  
"Don't be stupid, MJ," Peter started the car up. He needed sleep more than anything. Sleep so he could dream of bringing the peace that Harry always wanted. It was the least he could do.  
  
"I'm not being stupid, Peter, I'm being perfectly rational. She said, and I quote, 'he got what was coming to him.' She's Spider-Woman! She was even wearing a veil."  
  
"And what does that prove?" said Peter, half-laughing.  
  
"Nothing," MJ sighed. "I just think she could have pulled the trigger you know. She had the mental ability." Peter looked at her and laughed. "Okay, maybe not. Dismissed."  
  
"No, MJ. No one is dismissed. Everyone is a suspect." He looked her up and down. "Even you." MJ laughed and adopted a sexy growl.  
  
"Well, what are you going to do about it? Give me a strip search?"  
  
Peter thought about it, oh he thought about it all right, long and hard. Then again, the last time he slept with MJ was when Harry died. If every time they made love was either going to be a funeral or when someone died, a pattern had to be broken.  
  
"Maybe later." 


	13. Back to the Office

13  
Peter took the last right and entered the Daily Bugle offices. MJ had seemed quite chirpy after telling him about her little boy. Maybe she was glad to get it off her chest. He felt sharper after going to Harry's funeral. Everything seemed okay now that Harry was at peace, that Peter was at peace. But that was a lie. His best friend, his father, his mother, his uncle, his best friend's father, MJ.. nearly. Their deaths were all linked back to him. That's being Spider-Man for you, he thought to himself. He had to keep himself on the job, on the mission, on the case. He sounded like Superman. Peter allowed himself a smirk.  
  
Walking up these stairs takes a while, thought Peter. It turned out that there were four flights of stairs to get to the main offices. Peter didn't need to be Spider-Man to keep fit. Just running up these stairs would work just as well.  
  
He entered the main publishing section. Jonah was screaming into a telephone in his office, Sorrel, the secretary, was about to trip up and all her papers go flying but Peter nudged the photocopier wire out of the way so she didn't. Not even thanks. She was too busy. Then again, she wouldn't even know the trip would have happened. That's spider sense for you. Peter scanned the office for Liz. She was probably in editing or in her own office.  
  
"Parker, get your ass in here!" Peter woke up from daydreaming and sat down in Jonah's office. "So, what you been doing, Parker? The report?"  
  
"No. I managed to get some good pictures though." Peter was lying. He had only got the globe and a fuzzy image of the inflatable animals but he could always use last year's. Jonah would never notice. If he could make an excuse, start being sick or something, maybe he could go home and swap the pictures then.. but Peter didn't have to worry.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Forget it. New report. You know Spider-Man, right?"  
  
"Yes," Peter got ready for another lecture about how Spider-Man was a fraud, a criminal. Maybe both, "I got this picture off the hotline." He handed Peter a colour A4 size photo. Peter could have had a heart attack. It was of Spider-Woman and him, facing each other. Nicole had gone; she was running round the corner. It was a great photo. Not fuzzy at all.  
  
"Hotline?"  
  
"Well, the anonymous hotline. It was posted through our door. Good, huh?" Peter nodded, still in shock. Was there another of him changing? "I want you to get more of this bird. We're going colour for one issue. To show the difference in costumes."  
  
"Uniform," Peter mumbled, still looking at the picture.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing." Peter snapped out of it.  
  
"I'm thinking, 'SPIDER-MAN Vs. SPIDER-WOMAN; WHO WILL PROTECT OUR CITY?'" He looked at Peter. "What are you still doing here? Get me more pictures!" He left Jonah's office. There was still no sign of Liz. He bent down to Sorrel, Jonah's long-suffering secretary, typing furiously at her typewriter.  
  
"Um, Sorrel, can I ask you something?" Not even looking up, Sorrel answered blankly.  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"Does someone called Oliver work here?" Sorrel sighed and picked up a slim book. Her finger skimmed the selected page so fast; it barely touched the paper. Sorrel flicked through a couple of pages.  
  
"Ah ha!" Her uneven glee was spread across her face like peanut butter. Peter smiled. The glee vanished as if the peanut butter was eaten. "Oh."  
  
"What's wrong?" Peter braced himself.  
  
"He did work here," Maybe he got fired, or left? "He's been dead for 20 years."  
  
"Oh." Maybe it was just the surname. "Could you tell me if someone else works here?" Sorrel looked at him wearily. "Who isn't dead, I promise. Liz Allen?" She flicked back.  
  
"Allen, Allen, Allen.No, Allen in here. Sorry, Peter."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"See for yourself." She pointed at the book and let him lean over her shoulder. Sorrel was right. He must have sounded so stupid. He tried to mumble an apology but realised that would just make him sound more stupid. Then again, he had been mumbling for a minute so he couldn't really make things any worse, so he decided to leave before he could, as these things always happen.  
  
"Oh um... Well, thanks Sorrel." She smiled.  
  
"No prob. I knew that book would come in useful sometime." Sorrel went back to typing.  
  
Peter left the building crestfallen. How could Liz have lied like that? Was she just trying to make conversation? No, that wasn't Liz at all. How did she know about Jonah? His name was printed in every issue. How could she know about him being so mean? Lucky guess. Liz was smart, and she knew that most people didn't like their boss or senior. If Liz didn't work at the Bugle, how could she have been reporting?  
  
And then, in that moment, it hit Peter like a bullet. How could he have been so stupid? He started to walk faster, a little faster and then he broke out into a run. He needed to reach Nicole and MJ before it was too late. 


	14. Peter and his Queen

14  
A small nip at her ankle woke Mary Jane up. She was tied to a chair, not unusual, and next to her in the same situation was Nicole. They were in the old warehouse. The nip had been a rat. She looked down. The rat scurried away, a scary green gleam to its eyes. Her gaze settled on the small gash on her ankle, streaming blood.  
  
"Eew," MJ tried not to make too much noise. Nicole was crying loudly, not on the same wavelength as her old friend.  
  
"They've come back for us, MJ! They're going to kill us!" MJ could now keep calm.  
  
"No. It's okay. Chill. Spider-Man will save us, Nic. Just chill. Breathe." Nicole took in unsteady breaths. No matter what Mary Jane did, she didn't have a hope in hell of calming Nic down. Swoosh.  
  
"What was that?" Mary Jane whispered huskily. Her throat hurt and tasted of blood.  
  
"Don't ask me!" replied Nicole. A figure walked towards them. The hazy afternoon light caught on the contours of the person's body. Red, purple and black web design. MJ wanted to scream, but she couldn't, for Nicole's sake.  
  
"Spider-Woman," said Mary Jane quietly, hoping not to let the awe and fright come out in her voice but failing. Spider-Woman stood in the light. Her eyepieces glinted like coins.  
  
"Yes, Mary Jane. We meet again. Let's just hope your boyfriend doesn't come and save you again." Spider-Woman cracked her knuckles.  
  
"Boyfriend?" mouthed Nicole. MJ didn't notice her.  
  
"Spider-Man will save us, Spider-Woman," Mary Jane put all her eggs into that one basket of a sentence. Spider-Woman laughed.  
  
"You won't have any excitement left in your life, Mary Jane, if you keep counting on Spider-Man!" She tapped where her mouth was with a long elegant finger. "Can you keep a secret?" She stepped right into Nicole's space, which set her crying again. "Will you promise not to tell?"  
  
"What is it, tell us now!" said Nicole, choking on her tears.  
  
"Ooh! Interested are we? Be patient. All will be revealed." She reached for the bottom of her mask. She turned her back to them, curling the mask up. Pulling it off, a cascade of blonde hair fell to her waist. She turned around.  
  
"Liz?" gasped Mary Jane. "You look great."  
  
"That's what extra DNA does for you." MJ couldn't piece it together. "Clueless, as usual. Come come, Mary Jane. You don't think Peter was the only one to be bitten by that pesky spider on the field trip, did you?"  
  
"PETER?" Nicole shouted. Liz shot a web round her mouth. It kept her quiet. Liz took off her glove and showed MJ the back of her hand. A small red bite scar, angry and throbbing, was situated below her thumb.  
  
"You see, I was watching Peter take pictures of you," she spat out 'you', "I've loved him for longer than you, missy, don't forget that. There you were, showing off and then deserted him with her." She glared at Nicole.  
  
"He was so upset. Then he looked as though something had pinched him. He walked away. I went over to where he had been standing and then I saw the poor thing. It's purple and red, you know." She twirled in her outfit.  
  
"Appropriate, huh? I picked the little beast up. It had broken one of its legs. I was putting it back in the cage when it bit me. It was obviously hungry. I dropped the spider, wincing at the pain of it. After the field trip, I felt sick. I didn't see a doctor! Crazy!" MJ could certainly agree with that.  
  
"I fainted and woke up alive. I thought the spider toxin would kill me but I must have sweated it out. I reached for my glasses but I could see perfectly without them! Thus the lie with contacts. Then I caught a look at myself in the mirror. My teeth were straight and white, my puppy fat had disappeared and I'd gone up a bra size! My legs were toned and my spots had healed. All in one night, I kept saying to myself. Action was needed. I cut off the long hem of my skirt, brushed my hair into a fashionable style, and stole a pair of my mum's high heels. I looked fantastic for the first time in my life. I thought I'd finally be accepted. Not only beautiful but brainy, too. I'd be popular.  
  
"I got onto the bus. Did anybody notice? No. But MJ Watson, the girl who I've hated for years will notice! No, you got in the car. But Peter would notice. Then I saw him running alongside the bus again. His glasses were gone too and he had buffed up. All in one night, I thought again. It dawned on me that because all of his changes and mine had happened overnight, perhaps it was something to do with the bite. The spider!" she clicked her fingers.  
  
"We were both bitten by the spider. But the bus was too fast for him and he had to walk to school. Nobody noticed in our first three classes. Even one of them was with Peter! I was in the cafeteria and I saw you in the queue. I planned a little 'slip' and spilled my juice on the floor. Surely I'd get 'braniac' shouted or something like that but NOTHING." Liz tightened her fist.  
  
"I sat down just behind Peter, getting a good view of him and you slipping up. I got the blur for the first time in my life. The 'spider-sense' the woman had been talking about. I looked at you and you had slipped up, but Peter caught you. I swore to myself. He stared at you and held you the way I had wanted him to hold me so many times." Liz drifted off, her eyes narrowing into a squint. She shook her head and continued with her story.  
  
"Then I saw him with the fork. It had stuck to his hand. I looked at my wrist. A small white spot had formed," Liz showed it to MJ. She was understating. It was huge. "I decided to check it out later. Without any warning, a string of webbing had stuck to my tray. I ducked and it went flying over my head. It hit Flash. You laughed but Flash was angry. He turned round but Peter had already left the cafeteria. There was going to be a fight. I watched the whole thing. It was amazing. Truly amazing." She paused.  
  
"After grad, I decided to move to the city. I was working quietly when one day, Harry phones me. He said he needed some help. I was to help him get back at you. He knew I wanted revenge as well so I agreed. I told him everything on the phone. He knew about me! He also actually knew who Spider- Man was! I couldn't believe it. I had had suspicions but nothing actually confirmed them. Now here was proof." She laughed and stared at MJ's face. "And that's when we met for the first time, Mary Jane."  
  
"You're mad!" MJ didn't want to believe anything.  
  
"No, I'm not. But Harry was. He had been taking his father's 'potions' as he called them. They made him into ickle Gween Goblin Jr.," she laughed. "We had a deal. Get back at you, get back at Spider-Man. Harry was supposed to be guarding you but he snapped out of the potion's haze and drove home, allowing Spider-Man," Liz turned to Nicole. "Or Peter, to rescue you. I was very angry, Mary Jane. He had no clue. He had some clue on the day of the fair though. I met Peter who was too late. I got my revenge." Her eyes were glowing. MJ's head was spinning.  
  
"You killed him! Why?" MJ whispered; the tears she thought she had shed for Harry long ago were returning to her, thick and fast. Why could she do such a thing?  
  
"Because he broke his promise!" she yelled. "And now my revenge on you two. Nicole Von Rapp and Mary Jane Watson. The two most popular girls in the school who wouldn't notice me even if I was bitten by a genetically-altered spider and my whole image changed! Which did happen!" Liz took a gun from the floor and pointed it at Nicole's head. "I don't like you much, Mary Jane, so you watch her die." Liz talked to Nicole. "I like you more because your mom was nice. You can die first." She was preparing her gun when one of the windows shattered.  
  
"PETER!" MJ and Nicole screamed, or muffled, in unison. Peter kicked the gun out of Nicole's hand, sending it to an insane rat, which set the gun off and killed itself.  
  
"Bad girl, Liz," She swiped at him twice, failing both times. "But I do agree with you using your pawns first. Like Harry, huh? What did he do to you?" She kicked up at his head and managed to hit his mouth. Peter staggered back a little. He thought he heard MJ gasp.  
  
"He betrayed me!" she said, her hair straggled across her face.  
  
"By doing what? Huh, Liz?" Peter clutched at his bleeding mouth, the blood saturating his mask.  
  
"By doing what you didn't do! Protecting his queen!" She punched him in the shoulder. Liz obviously hadn't heard of 'never kicking a Spider-Man when he's down. "She may be useful and the most powerful piece on the board but you're helpless without her." Peter didn't hit back. She smiled. "Face it, Pete." She took off his bloody mask. "I'm the more powerful piece now. I should be your queen." Liz pulled him in and kissed him, the blood mixing in their mouths. Peter grabbed her by the hair and pulled her off him. She screamed and tripped up.  
  
"Forget it, Liz. There's only one true queen in the set." Peter glanced over at MJ. A low moan came from the floor. Liz was crying. Peter knelt down beside her and held her head.  
  
"Hmm. You were always a gentleman Peter." Liz coughed. "You didn't actually hit me. I hit you though." She cried harder. "I'm sorry, Peter. I'm sorry I didn't let you sit next to me on the bus. I'm sorry for when I beat you at chess that time. I'm sorry for when I spilled juice over your shirt. I'm sorry for what I did to her." She pointed weakly at MJ. "I love you Peter. I never had the guts to tell you." She kissed him again, weakly.  
  
"I'm sorry Liz," Peter felt he could give her a sensitive rejection because he was getting pretty used to, and hopefully good at them, by now. "I don't love you."  
  
"I thought you'd understand," she said, her voice becoming quieter and quieter.  
  
"I'm sorry," Peter sighed. How could gentle, silly Liz be so stupid? She laughed but then coughed.  
  
"Check, I guess," Her eyes closed. Peter checked her pulse as sirens wailed. She was alive, just unconscious.  
  
"Who called the police?" he asked MJ, as he untied and kissed her at the same time.  
  
"Nicole," Peter looked at Nicole's chair. She had fainted. "She stayed awake more than me." Peter embraced MJ and breathed in that flowery smell of her hair and her skin. He had come so close to losing her again, he had been so thoughtless. ~They love to see a hero fall, you know ~ a broken heart ~ dead friend ~ dead soulmate ~ it's all good ~ remember what they say ~ listen ~ S-p-I-d-e-r-m-A-n. ~  
  
"Let's get out of here," Peter shuddered and grabbed onto MJ. He shot a web into the distance, letting the police take Liz away and revive Nicole. He pulled them up and they were flying; they were soaring above the clouds. Together. Alive.  
  
"Hey mom, hey dad," said Peter, smiling. MJ looked at him sleepily.  
  
"You talk to your parents?"  
  
"Yes. It helps me not to miss them so much." Peter smiled as though he'd just spotted someone he hadn't seen for years. "Yo, Uncle Ben!" MJ laughed.  
  
"Let me try." She cleared her throat. "Harry? You up there? I'm sorry if I hurt you. We had a great time but I'm with Peter now."  
  
"Anyone else? We'll be home soon." Peter's apartment was in sight. "I don't want to rush you or anything but I don't want to crash into a wall right now." MJ smiled and nodded.  
  
"Hi Peter. Don't cry. You're in heaven now. I love you." She cried a little into Peter's shoulder.  
  
"I'm not in heaven although it feels like it. I'm not crying, either." Peter set them down inside his apartment and put his arms round her waist.  
  
"Not you." She felt her stomach. "Peter."  
  
"You'd have called him after me?" Peter's heart skipped a beat. She nodded. He pressed her against him and held her tightly. Her flowery smell filled his brain again. "I love you MJ."  
  
"I love you too, Peter." 


	15. Mary Jane and her Prince

15  
The applause was deafening. A standing ovation! The tickets had sold out in ten minutes, not surprising, as it was the last night. Mary Jane stood there, arms outstretched in her final pose. Tamara's leg was on the mend. Mary Jane didn't even try to spot her. The light was blinding. She couldn't see anything. Her arms dropped in perfect timing with everyone else and they bowed. Bo came from the back and gave MJ a huge bunch of flowers.  
  
"For the eye shadow tip!" They both smiled and kissed eachother on the cheek. Mary Jane took out a pink carnation and gave it to Bo.  
  
"For being so darn nice!" They laughed and bowed. MJ reached Bo's ear and said, "Your skin looks great today." Bo smiled at her. The lights seemed stronger than ever. All MJ could see was yellow light. She bowed again. Then, a voice shouted from roughly the middle of the theatre seats.  
  
"Go MJ! Come on! Give it up for Mary Jane Watson! I love you!" A wolf whistle followed. It was Peter. MJ blushed but was touched. She walked off stage waving wildly and blowing kisses in, hopefully, Peter's direction.  
  
It had taken a while to become Mary Jane Watson again. Especially after the play, but also the last month. The rehearsals, Peter, Spider-Man, Spider- Woman, Harry, baby Peter.It was all too much. She didn't have time for herself, to be her. But when she was with Peter, something magical happened. Mary Jane was being herself. Not Mary Jane, party girl, Mary Jane, grieving mother, Mary Jane, actress, Mary Jane, target for evil villains, Mary Jane, trophy, Mary Jane waitress or even Mary Jane, girlfriend. She was Mary Jane, Mary Jane. Just MJ.  
  
MJ stepped outside to a beaming Peter and hundreds of people asking for her autograph. She signed them all. It almost took over an hour but she got them all done. It was fun. Once she was done, Peter took her up in his arms and kissed her on the lips tenderly. They smiled at eachother and walked arm in arm.  
  
"What did you think, Tiger?" he looked down at her warmly.  
  
"You were amazing. Superstar," she smiled. "Did you hear me?"  
  
MJ laughed. "I heard you alright. I was embarrassed but incredibly happy. Thank you."  
  
"No problem," he smiled at her. MJ liked it when he smiled at her. It made her feel like gold, some precious living being. Not a prize, but a privilege. Peter was honoured almost to have her as his girlfriend. And it made her feel special. It seemed like life would be sweet forever for the Rosemary Princess and her handsome knight.  
  
THE END  
  
Boohoo! I'm gonna miss writing this fic! Thank you for all your reviews and support. I hoped you enjoyed it! ^__^ Sayonara!! 


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